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MARYLAND. 



BY 

W. T. BRANTLY. 



BOSTOlSr : LITTLE, BR0W:N^, & CO. 

1882. 

[Pn'ce, 25 Cents.'] 



MAEYLAND. 



W. T. BEANTLY. 




BOSTON: LITTLE, BROWN, & 00. 

1882. 



S.^ 



4 MAEYLAND. 

the widest point is 40 miles, and its average breadth is 10 
miles. It contains many islands, and its shore-line, which 
is extremely irregular, is deeply indented with estuaries. 
That part of the State which lies between the bay on the 
west and the State of Delaware and the ocean on the east 
is locally known as the Eastern Shore. The surface of this 
region is for the most part level, and but little raised 
above the sea. The peninsula between the Potomac river 
and the west shore of the bay constitutes another geogra- 
phical division similar in its general features to the Eastern 
Shore. Its surface, however, is more undulating, and on 
the north-west it rises to a ledge of Primitive rocks which 
runs from the Potomac river at a point about 10 miles 
above Washington city north-east to the Susquehanna river, 
and separates the tide-water portion of the State from the 
third division. This latter region gradually rises as it 
extends westward until it culminates in the mountains 
of the great Appalachian range, which are called, in Mary- 
land, the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies. The principal 
rivers of the Eastern Shore are the Pocomoke, J^anticoke, 
Choptank, and Elk. These are rather estuaries than rivers, 
and are not navigable for any distance from their mouths. 
The Susquehanna flows into the bay at its head, and is 
navigable for a few miles. On the western shore are the 
Potomac, navigable for 125 miles, to Washington city, the 
Patuxent, — the largest river which is altogether within the 
State — navigable for small vessels for 40 miles, and the 
Patapsco, on which Baltimore city is situated, navigable 
for 22 miles. The tide rises and falls in all these rivers. 



MARYLAND, O 

With the exception of the Youghiogheny, all the Maryland 
streams flow into the Chesapeake Bay. 

Geology and Minerals. — A great diversity of geological 
formation is found in Maryland. The lower part of the 
Eastern Shore is an alluvial plain, and the numerous islands 
in the bay are composed of similar alluvial deposits. The 
northern part of the Eastern Shore, beginning at the 
Choptank river, is a Tertiary formation, whose strata of 
sands and clays overspread deposits of marl, which is of 
great value as a fertilizer. The peninsula on the western 
shore of the bay belongs to the same Tertiary formation, 
which, towards the north-west, gives place to a range of 
metamorphic rocks. This belt of rocks, which includes a 
strip of New Red Sandstone, enters the State near the head 
of the bay, and extends south-west to the Potomac, with 
an average breadth of about 20 miles. The principal 
rocks are gneiss, talc-slates, limestone, granite, serpentine, 
and divers hydrated magnesian silicates. The limestone 
supplies a marble highly valued as a building material, 
and the serpentine rocks yield the valuable metallic 
element of chromium, which has been extensively and pro- 
fitably worked. Oxides of iron occur in gneiss, and the 
Jurassic clays contain the brown haematite ores from 
which iron is manufactured. These ores were worked even 
during the colonial period, and in 1751 Maryland exported 
2950 tons of pig iron to England. Bog iron ore is also 
found on the Eastern Shore. Beds of different kinds of 
clays which are used in the manufacture of bricks, 
porcelain, &c., are abundant, and veins of copper ore are 



b MAEYLAND. 

also worked. Passing westward of the metamorphic rocks, 
we meet a wide belt of Silurian and Devonian formation, 
and the first ridge of the Appalachian range, beyond 
which lies the broad Hagerstown valley resting upon 
Trenton limestone. Numerous parallel ridges, enclosing 
valleys of great fertility, and belonging to the Middle 
Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous formations, follow. 
This belt of lines of elevation nearly parallel with the 
ocean, which is a characteristic of the Appalachian chain, 
has, in Maryland, an average breadth of about 40 miles, 
and trends to the south-west. The mountainous region, 
which extends to the western extremity of the State, but 
with elevations rarely exceeding 2500 feet, begins at 
Cumberland, and here the Silurian and Devonian forma- 
tions give place to the Carboniferous. This portion of 
Maryland is one of the most important bituminous coal 
regions in America. There are several coal-fields with 
horizontal seams lying near the surface, but the most con- 
siderable is that of the George's Creek valley between 
Dan's Mountain on the east and Savage Mountain on the 
west. This narrow valley, about 20 miles long, contains 
the " big seam *' of bituminous coal, of the extraordinary 
thickness of 14 feet. The Maryland coal is unequalled in 
the manufacture of iron and the generation of steam. The 
number of tons mined in 1881 was 2,261,918, and it is 
estimated that 550 square miles of Coal-measures remain. 
This Carboniferous formation also contains deposits of iron 
ore which are extensively worked. 

Climate^ Soil, (Ssc. — The climate of Maryland is equable 



MARYLAND. 7 

and salubrious, except in some of the lower counties on the 
bay, which, in summer, are subject to malarious exhalations. 
The mean annual temperature in the southern part of the 
State is 56°, in the middle 54°, and in the western 50°. 
The mean temperature at Baltimore is in spring 53°*8, in 
summer 76°*2, in autumn 57°'l, in winter 36°'2. The 
mean annual temperature is 55° "9. The mean annual 
barometer is 30'064, and the annual rainfall 41*94 inches. 
The death-rate in the State is 1'81 percent. In Baltimore 
city it was 19-34 per 1000 in 1879, and 24*7 in 1880. 

The soil of the Eastern Shore, and of the peninsula on 
the western shore of the bay, is composed of sand and 
clay, and when properly cultivated is very productive. 
Much attention is there bestowed upon the growth of 
peaches and other fruits. The land in the central part of 
the State, and in the valleys of the mountainous part, is of 
great fertility. The original forest still covers a consider- 
able area of the western portion. There are about one 
hundred species of trees in the State. The deciduous 
oaks, hickory, chestnut, walnut, cedar, and beech trees 
are especially abundant. The bay and its estuaries contain 
inexhaustible beds of the finest oysters, yielding many 
thousand bushels annually. ^ There are several kinds of 
tortoises, the most highly esteemed of which are the 
Malademys ^:)a^2fSi(ris and the Ptychemys rugosa. At 



^ In 1880 the amount of capital invested in the Maryland oyster 
business was $6,245,876 ; the number of persons employed, 24,377 ; 
and the oysters taken, 10,569,012 bushels. 



8 



MARYLAND. 



least eighty kinds of edible fishes abound in the waters of 
the State, and swimming birds are very numerous. 

Fopidation, Divisions. — The State is divided into 
twenty-three counties and the corporation of Baltimore 
city. The counties are — Alleghany, Anne Arundel, 
Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, 
Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, 
Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne, St Mary's, 
Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester. 
There are five cities — Baltimore, the metropolis of the 
State, and the seventh city in the United States (popula- 
tion in 1880, 332,313; in 1870, 267,354), Cumberland 
(10,693), Frederick (8659), Hagerstown (6627), and 
Annapolis (6498), the capital of the State, and the seat of 
the naval academy of the United States. 

The body of 200 emigrants who colonized Maryland in 1634 
had increased twenty-five years later to 12,000. In 1671 the 
population was 20,000 ; in 1715, 30,000 ; in 1748, 130,000, of whom 
36,000 were negroes ; in 1761, 164,007 (including 49,675 negroes) ; 
in 1775, 200,000 ; in 1782, 254,050 (including 83,362 negroes). 
The growth of population as exhibited by the decennial census re- 
turns of the United States is as follows : — 



Years. 


White. 


Free Coloured. 


Slaves. 


Total. 


1790 


208,649 


8,043 


103,036 


319,728 


1800 


216,a26 


19,587 


105,635 


341,548 


1810 


235,117 


33,927 


111,502 


380,546 


1820 


260,223 


39,730 


107,397 


407,350 


1830 


291,108 


52,938 


102,994 


447,040 


1840 


318,204 


62,078 


89,737 


470,019 


1850 


417,943 


74,723 


90,368 


683,034 


1860 


615,918 


83,942 


87,189 


687, 0i9 


1870 


605,497 


175,397 


• •• 


780,894 


1880 


724,693 


210,250 


... 


934,943 



In 1880 the native-born were 852,137, and the foreign -bom 
82,806. There were 10,569 more females than males. The number 



MARYLAND. V 

of males of twenty-one years of age and over was 232,106, of whom 
144,586 were native white, 38,936 foreign white, and 48,584 
coloured. The number of persons over the age of ten years who 
were unable to read and write was 134, 488. The number of families 
in Maryland was 175,318 ; dwellings, 155,070 ; persons to a square 
mile (land surface), 94-82; families to a square mile, 17-78; dwel- 
lings to a square mile, 15 "73 ; acres to a person, 6-75 ; acres to a 
family, 35-99 ; persons to a dwelling, 6-03 ; persons to a family, 
5-33. 

Agrimlture, Manufactures, Commerce.— The following statistics 
relating to agricultural labour in Maryland are those of the census 
of 1880. The number of farms was 40,517 (the rate of increase 
since 1870 being 50 per cent.) ; 27,978 farms were occupied by the 
owners, 3878 were rented for a fixed money rental, and 8661 
were rented for shares of produce. In 19,920 farms the number of 
acres under cultivation was less than 100, and only 805 farms were of 
or above 500 acres' extent. The staple crops are tobacco, maize, and 
wheat, and the average cash value per acre of crops was $17.82. In 
the production of tobacco Maryland ranks as the seventh State in 
the Union. The acreage devoted to it was 38,174 ; the production 
was 26,082,147 R) ; and che value of the crop in the farmers' hands 
was $1,825,750. The cereal production was as follows :— Barley, 
226 acres, 6097 bushels ; buckwheat, 10,294 acres, 136,667 bushels ; 
Indian corn, 664,928 acres, 15,968,533 bushels ; oats, 101,127 acres, 
1,794,872 bushels; rye, 32,405 acres, 288,067 bushels ; wheat, 
569,296 acres, 8,004,864 bushels. The live stock on the farms, 
June 1, 1880, was as follows :— horses, 117,796 ; mules and asses, 
12.561 ; working oxen, 22,246 ; milch cows, 122,907 ; other cattle, 
117,387 ; sheep, 171,184 ; swine, 335,408. 

The statistics of the iron and steel industries for 1880 showed that 
the number of establishments in Maryland was twenty-three ; capital, 
$4,962,1-25; number of hands, 2763 ; wages paid, $905,090 ; value of 
materials, $2,888,574 ; value of products, $4,470,050. The pro- 
duction of pig iron was 59, 664 tons. The cotton manufactures had 
2325 looms, 125,014 spindles, used 46,947 bales of cotton, and 
employed 4159 hands. Baltimore stands eighth in the list of 
manufacturing cities in the United States. The number of 
establishments in that city is 3596 ; capital $35,760,108 ; average 
number of hands employed 55,201 ; annual product $75,621,388. 

The large foreign commerce of the State is conducted almost 



10 MARYLAND. 

wholly through the port of Baltimore, although there are two other 
ports of entry. In 1881 the number of foreign vessels arriving was 
1307 ; in 1880, 1508. The number of foreign clearances in 1881 
was 1179 ; in 1880, 1633. The number of vessels registered in the 
State is 1788. The chief imports are iron, coffee, and salt ; the 
chief exports, tobacco, petroleum, and grain. The grain elevators 
at Baltimore have a capacity of 6,150,000 bushels. In 1880 the 
value of the foreign imports was $18,643,245, and that of the 
foreign exports $74,398,971, The aggregate exchanges at the 
Baltimore clearing house in 1881 were $732,448,141. There are one 
hundred and fifty-two fire and marine insurance companies doing 
business in the State. In 1881 these received $1,680,109 in pre- 
miums, and paid losses amounting to $1,015,658. The twenty- 
nine life insurance companies in the State received iu 1881 
$1,116,540 in premiums, and paid losses amounting to $895,092. 

Railways and Canals. — The Baltimore and Ohio Railway, 
incorporated in 1827, is one of the chief lines of communication 
between the seaboard and the Western States. The number of miles 
of all railways in operation wholly within the State is 1048. The 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, begun in 1828, and completed in 
1845, at a cost of $11,375,000, extends from Cumberland, along 
the left bank of the Potomac, to Georgetown, in the District of 
Columbia, a distance of 184 miles. It there crosses the river by 
an aqueduct and continues to Alexandria, Va, Its depth is 6 feet, 
and its width varies from 52 to 70 feet. The Chesapeake and 
Delaware Canal, connecting the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, is 
12 miles long, 66 feet wide, 10 feet deep, and cost $3,547,561. 

Revenue, Debts, Taxation. — The total amount of the funded debt 
of the State on September 30, 1881, was $11,257,560. About one- 
half of this debt bears interest at 5 per cent,, and the remainder at 
6 per cent. As an offset to this debt the State owns interest-paying 
securities amounting to $3,461,085, and non-productive property 
valued at 25 million dollars. The property assessed for purposes of 
State taxation in 1881 was valued at $461,459,939, and the State 
tax was 18| cents on each $100. The total receipts of the State 
from all sources were $1,996,641. The debt of Baltimore city, on 
January 1, 1882, was $36,381,351. The city owns productive pro- 
perty worth $15,304,596, and unproductive property valued at 
$5,150,780. The property assessed for city taxation was valued at 
$247,230,189, and the city tax was $1 '37 on each $100. The debts 



MARYLAND. 11 

of the cities and counties, exclusive of Baltimore, amount to nearly 
two million dollars. 

Social Statistics. — In 1881 the average number of convicts in the 
State penitentiary was 545, nearly one-half of whom were sentenced 
for larceny. The convicts are employed upon profitable labour, and 
the institution is not only self-supporting, but is a source of revenue 
to the State. The State house of correction received in 1881 414 
prisoners, most of whom were sentenced for short terms. Provision 
is made for juvenile offenders in houses of reformation and similar 
establishments. The number of inmates in the almshonses in 
1879 was 2384. The M'Donogh Industrial School has an endow- 
ment of $861,968, and educates and supports about fifty poor boys 
annually. The State extends its aid to a hospital for the insane 
(with 400 inmates), an asylum for the blind, two deaf and dumb 
asylums, and other charitable institutions. In 1880 there were 
one hundred and thirty-eight periodicals published in the State. 
The ]trincipal religious denominations are the Methodist, Roman 
Catholic, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Baptist. 

Education and Libraries. — Maryland has an excellent system of 
free public schools supported by State, county, and municipal 
taxation. In 1881 the number of schools was 2039, the number 
of pupils 158,909, the number of teachers 3180, and the total 
expenses $1,604,580. The schools are managed by school com- 
missioners who, in the counties, are appointed by the judges of the 
circuit courts, and in Baltimore city are elected by the city 
council. There is also a State board of education, invested with 
comprehensive vi&itorial powers. A number of higher educational 
institutions ai-e maintained in part by the State. The principal 
of these are the normal school at Baltimore, St John's College at 
Annapolis (founded in 1783), the Western Maryland, Maryland 
Agricultural, Baltimore Female, Washington, and Frederick 
colleges. In 1881 these colleges had 723 students and 56 instructors, 
and received from the State $40,300. In Baltimore are two medical 
colleges — the college of physicians and surgeons, with 10 professors 
and 330 students, and the medical school of the university of 
]\Iaryland, with 10 instructors and 200 students. There are also 
two dental colleges in the State. The law school of the univer- 
sity of Maryland has 4 instructors and 60 students. The Johns 
Hopkins University, at Baltimore, which has an endowment of 
more than 3 million dollars, was opened in 1876. It has 34 pro- 



12 MARYLAND. 

fessors and associates, 20 fellows, 155 students, and 12,000 volnmes 
in its library. The buildings of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, 
Tvliich has a similar endowment of more than 3 million dollars, 
are now (1882) being erected. The Peabody Institute, which 
has $1,300,000 in productive funds, the gift of George Peabody, 
was founded in 1 857. It embraces a lecture department, a con- 
servatory of music, a gallery of fine arts, and a library. The 
library, containing 75,459 volumes in 1882, is designed to be a 
collection of such books as are not ordinarily accessible to 
scholars. The Pratt Public Library, endowed with one million 
dollars, was founded in 1882. 

Administration. — The chief executive officer of the State is the 
governor, who is elected for the term of four years, and receives a 
salary of $4500 per annum. He is invested with power to grant 
pardons and reprieves except in cases of impeachment, and a three- 
fifths vote of the legislature is necessary to overcome his veto of 
an Act. The legislature, called the General Assembly, meets 
biennially, and its sessions are limited by the constitution to ninety 
days. It is composed of a senate, elected for four years (one-half 
being chosen every second year), and a house of delegates, elected 
for two years. The present number of senators is 26, and of 
delegates 91. The judicial power of the State is vested in a court 
of appeals, consisting of 8 judges, in a circuit court and an orphans' 
court for each county, in six courts of record for Baltimore city, 
and in justices of the peace. The judges are elected by the people 
•for fifteen years, and retire upon attaining the age of seventy 
years. The justices of the peace are appointed by the governor, 
with the consent of the senate. The law officers are an attorney- 
general for the State, and a State's attorney for each county, who 
is the prosecuting officer in all criminal cases. The local affairs 
of the counties are managed by county commissioners elected for 
two years, and those of each city by a mayor and city council. 
All elections are by ballot, and every male citizen of the United 
States who has been a resident of the State for one year and of the 
district in which he offers to vote for six months preceding the 
election is entitled to be registered as a voter. The present con- 
stitution was adopted in 1867. Maryland is represented in the 
national congress by two senators and six representatives. The 
arms of the State are those prescribed by Lord Baltimore for the 
province in 1648, viz. : — quarterly — 1st and 4th, paly of six, or 



MARYLAND. 13 

and sable, a bend counterchanged ; 2d and 3d, quarterly, argent 
and gules, a cross botonny, counterchanged ; crest (which is 
placed upon a helmet, showing five bars, over a count palatine's 
coronet), on a ducal coronet proper two pennons, dexter or, the 
other sable, staves gules ; motto, Fatti mascMi parole femine ; 
supporters, a ploughman and fisherman, proper. On the great seal 
a mantle doubled with ermine surrounds the arms and supporters, 
as above, and upon a border encircling the seal is engraven the 
legend, scuto house voluntatis fuse coronasti nos. 

History. — The charter of Maryland, which constituted 
the first proprietary government established in America, 
was obtained from Charles I. by Sir George Calvert, the 
first Lord Baltimore, who had been one of the principal 
secretaries of state to James I. Lord Baltimore died before 
the patent passed the seals, and it was issued to his son the 
second Lord Baltimore on June 20, 1632. The name 
Maryland (Terra Mariee) was bestowed upon the colony by 
Charles I. in honour of his queen Henrietta Maria. In 
1633 Lord Baltimore despatched a number of emigrants, 
under the command of his brother Leonard Calvert, to 
colonize the territory. They settled at St Mary's on the 
27th March 1634, and the first legislative assembly, which 
was composed of all the freemen of the province, met in 
February 1635. Before the grant of the charter a trading 
station had been established, by William Clayborne of 
Virginia, upon Kent Island, in Chesapeake Bay, and the 
early years of the colony were greatly disturbed by contests 
with him, in which, however. Lord Baltimore was finally 
successful. The Baltimores were Catholics, and Maryland 
was designed to be a place of refuge for English Catholics, 
but, from the earliest period, religious toleration for all 



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